Domenicali: It will be vital to make up the ground we have lost

12 June, 2013

Stefano Domenicali

Ferrari enjoyed something of resurgence in Canada after a disappointing weekend in Monaco, and ahead of the British Grand Prix team boss Stefano Domenicali is confident that they can make another step forward in the ongoing development battle.

Although the race produced a strong points haul, the fact is that qualifying was once again their Achilles heel, with Massa making a silly error and crashing out in Q2 while Alonso ended up sixth on the grid.

Speaking after Montreal Domenicali said, “Both Fernando and Felipe staged a really great fight back. But when making a final assessment of this weekend, Saturday’s qualifying weighed heavily on the outcome, even if in the race we showed our potential once again.”

“If we had started from the very front of the grid, we would have had everything in place to aim for the win. The circumstances in which qualifying was run did not suit the characteristics of our car and we paid a very high price for that,” admitted the Ferrari team principle.

Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa during the Canadian GP weekend

Currently Red Bull appear to have the edge with their RB9, especially in the hands of Sebastian Vettel, while Mercedes have established themselves as genuine contenders for race wins.

“At the same time, we must also continue to push on the development of our car. Because our rivals have made clear steps forward. Apart from Red Bull, in Montreal, Mercedes was also very competitive, not just in qualifying over a single lap, but also over the whole race distance. We must give our drivers the wherewithal to fight for the front two rows of the grid [during qualifying], because that is the key to be able to capitalise on our car’s race pace,” said Domenicali.

“Now we have a slightly longer than usual gap before the next race in Silverstone. We will try and use that time as well as possible to work on the car and continue studying tyre behaviour, because on Sunday we saw cars which were able to do two thirds of the race with just one set and therefore, understanding how the tyres will work at every circuit will require very close attention,” mused the Italian.

Fernando Alonso on the Montreal podium

“We have completed the first seven races of the 2013 season and we are in the fight for both the drivers’ and constructors’ titles. Now we move into a phase were it will be vital to make up the ground we have lost, trying to put together a string of useful results.”

“The opposition is numerous and very strong, but they too know our strengths. It will be a closely matched contest from race to race, on a variety of different circuit types with races held in different conditions. It’s an exciting prospect and I don’t think it will reach its conclusion until the very last race of the season,” concluded Domenicali. (Ferrari & Apex)